By the Touch of Her Hand
by Sunshine-hime
Summary: Eri-sama, center of the universe, tries to Dokkan Punch her feelings. It doesn't work out very well.


**My first romance story for this fandom and only the second one I ever wrote in general. Trying to branch out to different genres, so I hope you enjoy this one. Beta read by the lovely Haru Shinkai. She's been so supportive and wonderful, and made this fic way better. Thanks so much!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon Universe: Applimon and make no profit from this work.**

* * *

"Eri-san! Eri-san!"

Eri is startled from her semi-trance and whirls around. She scans the audience frantically until she spots the owner of the voice. Before then there were only her own thoughts to preoccupy herself as she waits on the sidelines for her turn onstage.

The 9 GODs of AppliYama 470 often perform special shows to thank their loyal fans and Eri, being ranked number 8 as of last year, participates in them as well. Not that she wouldn't anyway, she loves to perform and see everyone's smiles as they enjoy themselves.

Ai seems to have been waiting for Eri to notice her and once their eyes meet, she waves and begins her struggle through the thick crowd of people anticipating their favorite idols' performances. Surprisingly the event goers part as best as they can once they notice Ai is aiming to reach a friend.

The whole time Ai makes her way through Eri has been stock still, face hot and struggling to come up with something to say to Ai once she gets to her. They've been friends for years now and Eri finds herself more and more enchanted by the lovely young woman, who seems to grow even lovelier by the day. The way her soft and shiny blonde hair flows gently against the breeze or the way her charming lavender eyes light up when she's genuinely excited about something.

These were the kind of thoughts that had plagued her mind when she thought about her precious friend whenever she thought of her. It was a new feeling for her to feel this way about anyone so she wasn't sure how to deal with it. And Doka-chan isn't much help, he keeps encouraging Eri to tell her the truth and she just can't bring herself to do it. It's not like she's rejecting her changing feelings for Ai, but just that she doesn't want to impose them on her.

Ai is such a sweet person and not stupid in the least. But still, she's too kind at times. What if by telling her how she felt, it would make Ai feel obligated to accept it? And even try and date her, to avoid hurting her feelings? On some level Eri knows she's being irrational but she can't help it. The thought of Ai being forced into something she doesn't want terrifies Eri. Far more so than simple rejection.

This is the first time she's ever felt anything like this for anyone and she doesn't want to screw it up. So she'll just gather all her feelings and Dokkan Punch them into the stratosphere to keep Ai safe and happy. Nodding to steel her resolve, she readies herself to face Ai, and then nearly falls over seeing Ai right in front of her.

Ai grabs Eri and holds her steady, as Eri's face burns even hotter. "Are you alright? Are you sick?" And she touches a hand each to their foreheads. "Oh wow yeah, you're burning up. After the show, come straight back to me and I'll fix you right up."

Eri can only nod, slightly dizzy from being so close to her and the physical contact (Ai touched her forehead!) her voice long since malfunctioned. Before she can turn around and move closer to the stage, Ai calls for her again. "Eri-san, good luck. I'm sure you'll Dokkan Punch this show, no problem!" And she raises a fist for emphasis, far too dainty to be mistaken for her own version but it fits Ai perfectly.

Hearing her catchphrase from Ai snaps Eri out of her haze and she returns the words in spades. "Eri-sama, center of the universe, will give her fans a performance to remember!" Yelled as she looks and points to the sky, all traces of her nerves gone. Eri ignores the rash of phone camera flashes going off around her as excited fans try and catch their beloved idol in her trademark pose.

* * *

After the show is finished and the photo-ops are done, Eri is cleared to leave for the day. A rare treat but as they say, a padded jacket is an acceptable gift, even in summer. Currently she's walking with Ai back to the latter's place. Even though Ai rechecked for her "fever" and found it completely gone, she still insisted on Eri coming back with her just to make sure everything checked out.

The pair walk in silence for a bit and Eri is content to enjoy Ai's company.

"Eri-san, is there anything you wanted to tell me? Anything at all?"

Eri nearly face plants on the ground but recovers in time to keep up her pace with Ai. "Huh? What, what are you...?" She has a sudden terrifying thought, one that betrays her current biggest fear involving Ai.

Ai shakes her head. "I'm sorry for startling you. But I just want you to know that you can tell me anything."

Eri thinks to herself, just a bit desperately, that maybe she can continue to play it off until Ai is convinced enough to drop the subject. "Nope, not at all. Can't think of a thing." She laughs to play it off but her palms are sweaty and her heart is racing. It's so loud she's sure Ai can hear it; Eri feels like it's about to beat right out of her chest.

"The reason I'm asking you this is because. Because Dokamon told me how you feel about me. And I just want you to know that I'm perfectly fine with your feelings. I really am."

But Eri barely hears the last part, as her mind keeps repeating everything before it. 'She know she knows oh crap _she knows_!' She has to salvage this, she can't let anything happen to their friendship. The thought of messing things up with Ai makes her heart clench almost painfully.

"Ai-chan, please you don't have to-I mean, I don't want you to be 'just fine' with my feelings." Her shoulders slump. "Doka-chan shouldn't have said anything. Because you're my precious friend and I don't want you to feel forced, like you have to accept it."

Ai stops her, then takes both of Eri's hands into her own. She can feel the blush spreading on her cheeks. "You're not forcing your feelings on me. Actually I..." Ai stops and takes a deep breath, then starts over. "You're my precious friend too. And I'm fine with your feelings because, because I like you that way too. How you like me."

Eri can't move, her brain is both frozen and running overdrive. Did Ai, did Ai really say that? She can hardly believe it. But there's a smile on Ai's face and Eri looks down and their hands are intertwined. As Eri squeezes Ai's hand back, she feels her heart give a jolt, startling her a little. Judging by the small gasp and pink color on Ai's cheeks that joins her smile, she feels it too.

* * *

When they get back to Ai's place and settle in their old hideout in Ai's bookstore, Eri App Realizes Dokamon. His cries of joy at seeing his precious Eri-chan are interrupted when she grabs him and gives him the most aggressive noogie she can muster while Ai giggles in the background.

"Nooooooo Eri-chan, what did I do?"

"You blabbed to Ai about my feelings!"

"Only because you always talk about how much you like her!" Eri drops him in her shock, and he runs behind Ai who picks him up and places him in her lap. Ai is the only other person Doka-chan does this with and Eri distantly realizes that should have been a big hint about their compatibility.

"It's true Ai, Eri-chan always would talk about how she liked you but then she'd get sad because she didn't think you liked her back." And he dramatically posed while batting his eyes, which makes Ai laugh even harder. Eri's temper rises and she glares at her Buddy, shaking a fist at him. "I didn't act like that! I'll Dokkan Punch you into space!"

Dokamon winces and immediately stops. "So I just wanted to help. And I didn't tell on you at first Eri-chan, I asked Ai how she felt about you before I said anything."

Ai rubs his head to calm him down. "That's very true. And do you remember what I told you after that?" Doka-chan slumps his shoulders and nods.

Eri sighs and takes pity on her Buddy by holding out her arms, which he takes as an invitation to jump into them. She sits next to Ai on one of the black couches. "Listen, I know you were trying to help. But don't do something like that without telling me first, okay? That's something me or Ai-chan have to tell each other."

He nods again, eyes shining. "I'm sorry Eri-chan."

Eri lets the apology hang in the air for a moment. She's still a little upset that Doka-chan went behind her back. But she knows that he was only trying to help and _it did_ turn out okay in the end. In fact he even helped kickstart something that might not have happened for a long time otherwise. She relents, slaps him on the back, and grins. "Apology accepted. That being said, thank you for your help. Since it did work out in the end and all."

Ai bobs her head in agreement. "Yes, I want to thank you as well."

Dokamon blushes and scratches the back of his head, a bit bashful from all the attention. "You-You're welcome. I'm just happy that you two are happy."

Eri decides to be proactive this time (she can't let Ai do all the work, that's totally not fair to her!) and she reaches over and gently holds Ai's hand. As Ai squeezes her hand back, Eri feels her heart skip a beat. She could definitely get used to this.

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**Eri and Ai are the best. Episode 17 completely converted me to their magical w|w energies.**


End file.
